Two people fighting the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, in a confrontation described by firefighters and depicted in photos and video.
Why the two firefighters were arrested is unclear. But a spokesperson for the Incident Management Team leading the firefighting response said the team was “aware of a Border Patrol operation on the fire,” that it was not interfering with the firefighting response and referred reporters to the Border Patrol station in Port Angeles.
Over three hours, federal agents demanded identification from the members of two private contractor crews. The crews were among the 400 people including firefighters deployed to fight the wildfire, the largest active blaze in Washington state.
It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.
While they were waiting for their division supervisor to arrive, federal law enforcement showed up around 9:30 a.m.
Federal law enforcement asked the crews to line up to check their IDs, according to the firefighters.
One of the firefighters said members of the crew were told not to take video of the incident.
“You risked your life out here to save the community,” the firefighter said. “This is how they treat us.”
More in the article.
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Federal policy under President Joe Biden’s administration stated that without “exigent circumstances” agents would not conduct their operations at natural disaster or emergency sites. Whether that policy remains in place, however, remains unclear.
Willing to bet policy doesn’t matter anymore.
Turnip literally deporting the firefighters…
Trump: “THE RESPONSE TO THE FIRE WAS UGLY, THEY HAD NOBODY FIGHTING THE FIRE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER”
Just release the files you pedo!
They want Washington to burn down. So when they want to perform their Gestapo arrests, stopping firefighters fighting an active fire is just a bonus.
Ironic since most of the wildfires happen in the red/literal KKK half of the state.
But also:
I’m going in!
Fuck with the people who can burn you alive and make it look like an accident… smart.
One of the firefighters said members of the crew were told not to take video of the incident
That’s your signal to definitely take video.
For real holy shit. For the same reason it’s important to have journalists in war zones, this needs documented so people can see what’s happening. We absolutely can not let fascists be the source of truth for what’s happening out there.
Plus idk about this situation, but at least when I was in Seattle SPD would immediate behave somewhat better when I would start obviously filming them harassing someone.
Thanks to Bob Furgeson, a corporate Dem, for allowing Trump and ICE to operate with impunity in WA.
He has been such a fucking disappointment…
“Papers please. Where’s your star?”
